Web-surfing kids on summer vacation can be targets, authorities warn

There is a treacherous enemy lurking in living rooms, bedrooms and media rooms in homes all across Central Florida — and children are its target.

While computers, tablets, smart phones and even gaming consoles can be a source of good, clean fun — not to mention a preferred pastime for many kids — investigators say the Internet may give predators more access to children than parents would imagine.

School is out, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials say parents must be vigilant about protecting kids who may be headed to the Internet to fill the extra hours of down time during summer vacation.

"I think they are in the same danger all the time," said Mike Phillips, a special agent with FDLE. "But because we see more kids online over the summer we see a significant uptick in the issue."

While both boys and girls can become targets, elementary and middle school girls – between 10 and 14 years old – statistically are the most vulnerable, Phillips said.

He suggests parents take a proactive role in making sure their children are practicing safe Internet activity. And old-fashioned conversation is their best bet for protecting children who may be unsupervised online.

"Have an open dialogue with kids on what it is you are trying to protect them from," Phillips suggests.

An Orlando man was arrested earlier this month in a federal online sting on charges of traveling to meet a minor for sex that he had approached on the Internet. For four months, 30-year-old Justin J. Herring exchanged emails with two FBI investigators posing as fathers of 13- and 14-year-old girls from Orlando and Altamonte Springs they were offering up for sex.

Although documents show Herring asked the investigators if they were a part of sting designed to catch online predators, he still agreed to meet the "fathers" with the intention of having sex with their "daughters" and possibly another 10-year-old girl.

During the email exchanges, Herring also admitted that he had been talking to another young girl through her Xbox console. Xbox LIVE allows gamers to play with others via the Internet — making it and other gaming systems a target for potential predators.

"It's up to parents to educate themselves about this issue," said Raymond Decker, cyber team coordinator for Make Orlando Safer Today, a five-year-old organization dedicated to keeping Central Florida residents safe both on and offline. "Wondering where the police are after something happens is not the way to go."

Parents who make sure their children don't reveal personal information online — such as where they live, go to school or even when the family may be going on vacation — could save them from becoming a victim, Decker said.

"Unfortunately, predators are on the cutting edge of technology," Decker said. "Kids aren't thinking about safety, they are just thinking this is cool."

Sue Wingo, an Orlando mom of two teenagers who also cares for her 11-year-old niece, said she is well aware of the dangers hiding online and she is careful to regulate their Internet activity.

"I'd hate for them to find out the hard way, so I'd rather tell them," Wingo said. "I tell them 'you think they're your friends but nobody is your friend. You don't know who you're talking to online, you don't know who's on the other end.'"

Her rules are simple: her children are not allowed to talk to anyone online they wouldn't want her to talk to or visit any websites they wouldn't want her to visit as well.

Her tactics are in line with Decker's suggestions.

"Forget worrying about their privacy," he said. "You're paying the rent. You're paying the mortgage. It's your room, not theirs. It all comes down to not being afraid to ask your kids questions."

Wingo said she supervises her young niece's activity even closer than her 16-year-old daughter's and 18-year-old son's.